Film footage indicator



1940- o. w. GITHENS ETAL 4,383

FILM FOOTAGE INDICATOR Original Filed April 7, 1937 l v NTORS zzfiifz-zzwz 14,], BY EVERETT M. 152K751? 0 ATTO ENE Y K Patented Dec. 10,

FILM FOOTAGE INDICATOR Otto W. Githens and George Kende, New York,

, and Everett M. Porter,

N. Y assignore to Universal Camera Corporation, New York, N. 1., a corporation of Delaware Original application April 7, 1937, Serial No. 135,610. Divided and this application July 19,

1939, Serial No. 285,242

'7 Claims. (01. 88-16) This invention relates generally to motion picture cameras. relates to an improved footage meter construction for indicating the amount of unexposed film in a motion picture camera.

One of the objects of our invention is to provide, in a camera of the character described, a highly improved footage meter designed to operate in synchronism with the film advancing mechanism of the camera and to be operated by the camera motor. I

Another object of our invention is to provide a footage meter mechanism for a motion picture camera which is characterized by its simplicity of construction and assembly, its ruggedness, and

.its highly eiiicient operation.

Other objects of our invention will in part be obvious and in part hereinafter pointed out.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter described, and of which the scope of application will be indicated in the claims.

Certain features shown and described but not claimed in this application are shown, described and claimed in our co-pending application, Serial No. 135,41ii, filed April *1, 1937, for. Motion picture'cameras, now Patent No. 2,174,155, of which the present application is a division.

In the accompanying drawing, in which is shown one oi the various possible embodiments of this invention,

Fig. i is a vertical cross-'sectionai View of the footage meter apparatus of a motion picture camera constructed in accordance with our invention and showing the motor mechanism ior operrating the same;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially on the iine 202 of Fig. 1 with parts broken away;

Fig. is a crossnectional view taken substan- .tial1y on the iine 1-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view of a portion of the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 2 but showing a step in the operation thereof: and

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially on the line i-J of Fig. 3.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, there is disclosed a motion picture camera motor mechanism of the type fully shown in our co-pending application Serial No. 135,410, filed April '7, 1937. As described in the said co-pending application, the motor mechanism is housed between a pair of metallic plates i0 and it which are held in spaced More particularly, our invention I relationship by a plurality of spacing rods If. The said motor mechanism is adapted to be mounted in a suitable camera casing (not shown). The spring motor it comprises a fiat spirally wound spring a, the inner end of which is fixed to ashaft ll, while the outer end thereof is looped over one of the spacer bars I2 and permanently held in position on such bar If by any suitable means, such as for example the rivet ll shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The shaft i5 is suitably Journaled between the plates II and II. It is thus seen that rotation of the shaft I! in a counter-clockwise direction will wind the spring IG.

To prevent unwinding of the said motor spring Na until such time as it .is eflectively' used'for driving a main driving gear I! to operate the camera mechanism, there is provided a ratchet wheel l8 which is rigidly mounted on the shaft ii for rotation therewith by any suitable means, such as for example by providing the shaft i5 with a knurled portion Nb and correspondingly knurling the opening in the ratchet to pro vicie easy and quick assembly. The ratchet 38' is provided with an extended coliar portion 58a upon which is rigidly fixed a spring guard plate iii), which is designed to rotate with the ratchet it. The gear i1 is so mounted on the coiiar its that the spring may be wound without rotating the said gear ii. Attached to the gear pawl 69 pivotaliy mounted on a pivot All 21 adapted to cooperate with the ratche w ee The pawl i9 is normally urged in a i, engage the teeth of the ratchet means of a spring 2i. It is thus seen-that the spring Ha unwinds to rotate the shaft 5?} upon which it is mounted, the ratchet i8 also rotate with the said shaft 65. The pawl it, normally in engagement the tchet teeth and being fixed to the gear iii, cause the rotation of the said gear ii to drive the mechanism.

In mesh with a chain of gearing to :ie scribed is aipinion 22 {see Fig. 3) mounted on a shaft 23 for rotation therewith. 9n the said shaft 23 there is also mounted a pair or cams A and B for causing reciprocating motion oi a pair of shuttles adapted to operate the intermitent film advancing claw and the film shutter, the iunction and operation of which fuily described and shown in our co-pending applica' tion Serial No. 121,488, filed January 21, 1937, now Patent No. 2,187,713. The shaft 23 has opposite ends thereof iournaled in the plates it not and ii, lhepinion It is adapted to be driven isa from the motor ll by a gear 24 mounted on 'the shaft 25, the opposite ends of which are journaled in the plates l and II. Also mounted on the shaft 25 forrotation therewith'is a gear 26 I which in turn meshes with the pinion 22 A gear 21, driven directly from the motor H by the gear l1, meshes with the pinion 24.

In accordance with our invention, the followmeans of an enlarged headed fixed pivot ll. The.

said member 30 comprises a flat portion "a Y thereof adapted to overlie the outer surface of U the plate ll and another portion llb integral with the portion 30a but offset in a different plane therefrom so thatthe said portion "b will overlie the opposite or inner surface of the plate II. An

opening 32 is provided in the plate ll of suitable size and shape to permit the insertion of the portion 30b therethrough and to provide clearance for pivotal movement of the member 30. The

amount of pivotal movement of the said member 30 is restricted by a pin projection I! fixed to the portion 304 and designed to operate in an enlarged opening 34- in the plate ll. Thisopeniug is of such size with respect to the pin "as to permit a predetermined amount of pivotal movement of the member 30, for reasons which will a soon become apparent. The member 30 is normally held in the limlt of its counter-clockwise pivotal movement (see Fig. 2) by means of a spring 85, one end of which is attached to the plate H by an enlarged headed pin 36, while the 40 free end of the spring 38 is designed to resiliently abut the pin 33, as shown, so as to normally urge the rotational movement of the member 30 in a counter-clockwise direction about the pivot 8|. If desired, the pin 33 may be provided with an 46 annular peripheral groove to retain the spring 35 in proper position. Designed for synchronous operation with the member 30 is a pin projection 31 mounted on the flat surface of the'gear I! for rotational movement therewith; The edge We 80 of the portion 30b is cammed, as shown, and the projection 31 is disposed in the path of said cammed portion 300, so that whenever the motor mechanism is in effective operation to rotate the gear II, the pin 31, after making acomplete 53 revolution, will strike the cammed surface 300 and pivotally move the member 30 about its pivot Si in a downward or clockwise direction, against the action of the spring 35 (see Fig. 4).

It is noted that a portion of the member 3. is

00 provided with a substantially squared or pointed corner d, which is designed to cooperate with a rotatably mounted ratchet wheel ll mounted on the plate II. The teeth of the ratchet wheel 38 are so designed that, upon each revolution of 65 the pin :1, the member so will be rotated in a clockwise direction, so that the portion 80d thereof will engage one of the teeth of the ratchet wheel 38 to turn said ratchet wheel in a counterclockwise direction a predetermined distance. 70 That portion of the member 3| adjacent the pivot ll may be provided with a slotted aperture Ila surrounding the shank 'of-the pivot 3|, to permit sufilcient inward sliding movement of the member 30 when the pins! engages the cammed 7 surface No to permit the'portion lid to engage a tooth or the rezone: wheel a to rotate the same.

.Suita-ble markings 38 are provided on the top surface of the ratchet wheel ll, which are adapted to be visible through an aperture in the adjacent wall of the casing part (not shown) in which themotor unit is mounted. The number, visible through the outside of the casing,'willregister the number of feet of unexposed film. In the present design each revolution of the pin 31 will correspond to one foot of film used. To prevent clockwise rotation of the ratchet wheel 38 and at the-same time to hold the said wheel against undesired counter-clockwise rotational ,movement, there is provided a resilient member, such as a spring 40, one end "a of which is attached to the plate II by any suitable attaching means, such as for example the downwardly projecting portion ll of said spring ll being received in a corresponding aperture in the plate H and swaged or weldediy held therein.

while the other end 40b of the spring 40 .resiliently contacts the ratchet teeth in such manner as to prevent rotation of said'ratchet wheel 38 in a clockwise direction. A knurled'knob member 42 may be provided on the ratchet wheel 26 ll inorder to turn the same by hand to the proper starting point against the action of .the spring 40 when the camera is first loaded.

It will thus be seen that there is provided a device in which the several objects of this inven- 60 tion are achieved, and which is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use. 2

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiments above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawing is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In a motion picture camera having a spring motor supported between a pair of plates, a footage meter mounted on one of said plates, said meter comprising a one-piece member pivotally 45 and slidably mounted on said last named plate, a ratchet wheel rotatably mounted on said plate, said member comprising a first portion thereof overlying the outer surface of said plate, a second portion thereof overlying the inner surface of said plate and a third portion interconnecting the other two portions,- said third portion passing through an aperture in said plate, and means associated with said motor for causing said member to rotate said ratchet wheel, said first and second portions being inplan'es parallel to each other and to the plane of said plate.

2. In a motion picture camera having a spring motor supported between a pair of plates, a footage meter mounted on one of said plates, said M meter comprising a member pivotslly and slidably mounted on said last named plate, .a ratchet wheel rotatably mounted on said plate, said member comprising a first portion thereof normally overlying the outer surface of said plate, a second portion thereof normally overlying the inner surface of said plate and a third portion in- ,terconnecting the other two portions, said thirdwheel whenever said motor is in operation and to slidably move during the rotational movement of said wheel.

3. In a motion picture camera having a spring motor supported between a pair of plates, a footage meter mounted on one of said plates, said meter comprising a member pivotally and slidably mounted on said last named plate, a ratchet wheel rotatably mounted on said plate, said member comprising a first fiat portion thereof overlying the outer surface of said plate,'a second fiat portion thereof overlying the inner surface of said plate and a third portion angularly disposed with respect to and interconnecting the other two portions, said third portion passing through an aperture in said plate, means for normally maintaining said pivotally mounted member out of operative engagement with the teeth of said ratchet wheel, means associated with said motor for causing said pivotally mounted member to operatively engage the teeth of said ratchet wheel at predetermined intervals to intermittently rotate the said ratchet wheel and to slidably move during the rotational movement of said wheel.

4. In a motion picture camera having a spring motor supported between a pair of plates, a footage meter mounted on one of said plates, said meter comprising a member pivotally mounted on said last'named plate, a ratchet wheel rotatably mounted on said plate, said member. comprising a portion thereof overlying the outer surface of said plate, a portion thereof overlying the inner surface of said plate and a third portion interconnecting the other two portions, said third portion passing through an aperture in said plate, means for normally maintaining said pivotally mounted member out of operative engagement with the teeth of said ratchet wheel, means for causing said pivotally mounted member to operativelyengage the teeth of said ratchet wheel at predetermined intervals to intermittently rotate the said ratchet wheel, said last named means comprising a rotatably mounted wheel driven by said motor and provided with a single projecting pin thereon, said pin being adapted upon each revolution of the said wheel to strike an edge of the said portion of said member overlying the inner surface of said plate, and a leaf spring-on said plate tangentially disposed with respect to said wheel and having a portion thereof directly engaging the teeth of said wheel to prevent backward movement; I

5. In a motion picture camera having a spring motor unit for operating the camera mechanism, means cooperating with said spring motor for visibly recording the number of feet of unexposed film, said means comprising a plate having an aperture, a one-piece member pivotally and slidably mounted on said plate, said member comprising a portion thereof overlying one surface of said plate, a second portion thereof overlying the opposite surface of said plate and a third portion interconnecting said first two porposed film, said means comprising a plate having a w an aperture, a one-piece member pivotally and slidably mounted on said plate, said member comprising a first portion thereof overlying one surface of said plate, a second portion thereof overlying the opposite surface of said plate and a third portion interconnecting said first two portions, said third portion passing through said aperture, said first and second portions being in planes parallel to each other and to the plane of said plate, a ratchet wheel rotatably mounted on said plate and provided with indicia to indicate the amount of film unexposed, means actuated by said spring motor to cause said pivoted member to intermittently engage the teeth of said ratchet wheel to rotate the said wheel a predetermined distance, and means for normally maintaining said pivoted member out of engagement with the teeth of said ratchet wheel.

7. In a motion picture camera having a spring motor unit for operating the camera mechanism, means cooperating with said spring motor for visibly recording the number of feet of unexposed film, said means comprising a plate having an aperture, a one-piece member pivotally mounted on said plate, said member comprising a portion-thereof overlying one surface of said plate, a second portion thereof overlying the opposite surface of said plate and a third portion interconnecting said first two portions. said third portion passing through said aperture, said first and second portions being in planes parallel to each other and to the plane of said plate, a ratchet' wheel rotatably mounted on said plate and provided with indicia to indicate the amount of film unexposed, means actuated by said spring motor to cause said pivoted member to intermittently engage the teeth of said ratchet wheel to rotate the said wheel a predetermined distance, means for normally maintaining said pivoted member out of engagement with the teeth of said ratchet wheel, said last named means comprising a spring fixed at one end thereof to said plate and having the other end thereof resiliently abutting a projecting pin on said member, and a leaf spring on saidplate tangentially disposed with respect to said wheel and having a portion thereof directly engaging the teeth of said wheel to prevent backward movement.

- O'I'IO W. GI'I'HENS;

GEORGE KENDE. EVERETT M. PORTER. 

